She is
very frail, and her eyes still have that restless look, but she talks
quite coherently."

"What about that horrible woman?"

"I have pensioned Mrs. Unthank. To my surprise I hear that she is still
living in the village."

"And your ghost?"

"Not a single howl all the time that Rosamund has been away."

"There is one thing more," Caroline began hesitatingly.

That one thing lacked forever the clothing of words. There came a
curious, almost a dramatic interruption. Through the silence of the hall
there pealed the summons of the great bell which hung over the front
door. Dominey glanced at the clock in amazement.

"Midnight!" he exclaimed. "Who on earth can be coming here at this time
of night!"

Instinctively they both rose to their feet. A manservant had turned the
great key, drawn the bolts, and opened the door with difficulty. Little
flakes of snow and a gust of icy wind swept into the hall, and following
them the figure of a man, white from head to foot, his hair tossed with
the wind, almost unrecognisable after his struggle.

"Why, Doctor Harrison!" Dominey cried, taking a quick step forward.
"What brings you here at this time of night!"

The doctor leaned upon his stick for a moment. He was out of breath, and
the melting snow was pouring from his clothes on to the oak floor. They
relieved him of his coat and dragged him towards the fire.

"I must apologise for disturbing you at such an hour," he said, as he
took the tumbler which Dominey pressed into his hand. "I have only just
received Lady Dominey's telegram. I had to see you--at once."

CHAPTER XVIII

The doctor, with his usual bluntness, did not hesitate to make it known
that this unusual visit was of a private nature. Caroline promptly
withdrew, and the two men were left alone in the great hall. The lights
in the billiard-room and drawing-room were extinguished. Every one in
the house except a few servants had retired.

"Sir Everard," the doctor began, "this return of Lady Dominey's has
taken me altogether by surprise. I had intended to-morrow morning to
discuss the situation with you."

"I am most anxious to hear your report," Dominey said.

"My report is good," was the confident answer. "Although I would not
have allowed her to have left the nursing home so suddenly had I known,
there was nothing to keep her there. Lady Dominey, except for one
hallucination, is in perfect health, mentally and physically."

"And this one hallu